Johnny Depp to play the Mad Hatter for Tim Burton

The news got me thinking about all the bizarre and fantastical characters Depp has played, and who else from classic and/or weird literature he could move on to after the Mad Hatter. A couple that spring to mind:
• Merlin in The Once and Future King. The wizard lives backward in this one — could be fun for Depp.

• Van Helsing in Dracula. But only if he played him like he played Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow. That could be funny.

• Mort in any Terry Pratchett book. Like maybe Mort. (Mort is Death, in case you missed it.)

And after posting that, I thought about it and realized Depp could make a great Riddler for Batman III. So I googled it.

Not. An. Original. Idea. At. All.

Philip Seymour Hoffman for Penguin.

misterb

I’d rather see Johnny as Rincewind than Mort (or Death). In fact, Pratchett movies where Depp played every character probably would be pretty good.
Based on his performance as Hunter Thompson, how about Sal Paradise in “On the Road”?
B.O.H.P. in “Willy Wonka”, Mr Norrell in “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell”

but more than anything:
B.O.H.P. in “Pirates of the Caribbean” – Jack Shaftoe in “the System of the World”

Kevin Smith inspired the recasting of the classic role, but how about Depp as the shark in Jaws?

D

“how about Depp as the shark in Jaws?”
That… would… be… AWESOME!!!

Henry

I always thought Johnny Depp would make a great Dr. Faustus (from the Christopher Marlowe play), if somebody ever wanted to make a movie out of it. He could even take on dual roles as the good/bad angels.
The thing is, though, for the last couple of years he’s been like the Three Mustketeers with Burton and Helena Bonham Charter, and I can’t think of a role for Bonham Charter, so it might not work after all.

Jan Willem

@Henry: Of course Helena might do a silent cameo as Helen of Troy, causing Johhny D. to rhapsodise: ‘Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?’

MaryAnn

Depp would make a great Dr. Faustus

Has anyone else read Michael Swanwick’s novel *Jack Faust*? I dunno if it would work as a movie, but Depp would be great as Jack.

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